Fountain pen



Nov. l, 1932.

R. T. GRIFFITHS FOUNTAIN rEN Filed Aug. lv'21, 1930 Patented Nov. 1, 1932 UNITED' STATES! lnerlfzNl-J orrlca :RICHARD 'L'.GBIFFITHS, or AKRON, omo, AssIGNon To THE Bfr. Goon'mon COMPANY,

F NEW YORK, Y., A CORPORATION NEW YORK FOUNTAIN PEN Application led August 21,

The present invention relates to fountain pens and more particularlyl to the construction of ink sacs of the so-called self-filling fountainpens and to a process of making such sacs.

rlhe ink sacs of fountain pens are normally made of soft vulcanized rubber and vwhen so made present certain disadvantages in use which up to the present timeno practical means of 'overcoming has been devised.

Briefly, thesedisadvantages varise `from the fact that the metal actuating mechanism of fountain pens are enclosed in the same chamber with, and in part contact with, the rubber ink sac. It is well known that vulcanized rubber contains an excess of sulfur in an uncombind state and that this ree or uncombined sulfur comes to the surface of the rubber, forming thereon what is commonly called 2@ sulfur bloom. rlhere are also slowly given on from the rubber sulfur acids andother sulfur compounds which in the closely confined fountain chamber of the pen attack the metal parts of the iilling mechanism causing corrosion, the breaking of pivots and the adhesion of the metal parts to the rubber sacs., Again,

' certain inks are acid in reaction and the Vapors slowly dii'using'through the rubber wall of the ink sac also .have a corrosive and de-` 3@ structive action on the metal parts.

l have discovered that these disadvantages inherent in fountain pen constructions or the present day may be eliminated by interposing y a buffer layer of aluminum or similar Ametal '3&3 between the rubber and the, metal actuating parts of the pen. I have found by experiment that if the usual rubber sac is given a uniform coherent coating of aluminum powder, that such aluminum enclosure is forall practical f4@ purposes impervious to the acid vapors gen-v erated within the rubber or within the. ink andat the same time prevents the sulfur from migrating from the rubber sac into contact l with the metal parts. `ln carrying out my invention l, preferably form a rubber sac of suitable size and shape in any of the usual ways, is by rolling up a tube from a vulcanizable rubber sheet and then sealing one end ofthe tube, or by dip- 5@ ping a mold in a rubber cement or aqueous vhered to the sac 13 in this or other suitable 1930. serial no. 476,955.

'a sac of required dimensions. The aluminum powder maybe applied to the sac either before or after vulcanization of the rubber.

If the surface of the sac has retained the nat- :|y `ural tackiness of rubber,'the aluminum powder may be applied directly to the sac, as by rolling the sac in aluminum powder. It may be desirable, however,to increase the surface tack of the rubber before applying the alumi- 6e num powder, and this can be done'by moistening the surface 'with an organic solvent or byapplying an adhesive material.

Aluminum powder being of sealy Hakelike structure effectively sheathes the rubber1 and in addition serves as an excellent lubricant facilitating the insertion and withdrawal ofl the sac from the fountain chamber, a most advantageous characteristic when it is considered that the sac normally tits very 'le closely into the barrel oi the pen.

An embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a View, partially in section' and in elevation, with parts broken away, of the 55 fountain pen and sac of my invention, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged 7View, partially in section and partially in elevation7 with parts broken away, of the sac shown in Fig. l.

Referring to the drawing, the barrel 10 of 8@ i the pen has Vthe usual pen plug l1, selt` filling mechanism 12, and frictionally engaging the reduced inner end portion of the plug 11 a rubber sac 13, all of conventional design and arrangement. rlhe rubber sac 13, as best 95 shown in Fig; 2, is givenea. tacky surface 14, as by coating with rubber solvent or with an adhesive, and aluminum powder 15 is admanner.

' It is plainly apparent thatl a fountain pen equipped with the ink sac hereinabove described possesses improved service characteristic of great importance.` Whether the aluminum enclosure serves. actually to inhibit passage of the sulfur and the acid vapors, or whether the acidic and corroding substances attack the aluminum in `preference to the more inactive metalswtlf the filling i mechanism and hence are used up, or whether.` 10

both of these edects contribute to produce the marked advantages obtained by my novel construction, `which is the more likely, l am not new prepared to state. The fact is that my new ink sac construction when employed in a self-filling fountain pen remedies the above mentioned defects in prior fountain pen onstruction, as Well as possessing advantageous characteristics not heretofore available, and thus, materially contributes to the long life and uninterrupted service of this indispensable article of every day use.

il claim: v

l. ln combination, a `fountain `pen comv prising a fountain chamber having metallic actuating mechanism and a vulcanized soft rubber ink sac in said chamber coated `with aluminum powder.

2. lln combination, a fountain pen comprising a fountain chamber having'a vulcanized soft rubber ink sac therein, metallic parts in said chamber cooperating with the sac :for edecting the filling thereof with ink, said sac being coated with aluminum powder to protect the said metal parts from the action of corrosive substances of the rubber.

3. As an article ot manufacture, a toun- `tain pen sac comprising a pouch ot vulcanized sott rubber and acoating ot aluminium powder covering the exterior surface thereof. l

t. As an article ot manufacture, a fountain pen sac comprising a pouch vof vulcanized soft rubber and a closely adherent coating of aluminum powder covering the exterior surface thereof.

ln Witness whereof l have hereunto set mv hand this 13th day of August, 1930.

' RECHARD T. GRMFFITHS,

menace 

